Nina Simone

Nina Simone.. Now she is one hell of an artist.. So jazzy, bluesy, classy. She was a song writer, a pianist, a jazz singer, she was the total package. It just doesn’t get much better than this

Even if you haven’t heard of Nina you’ve surely heard some of her music even if you don’t know it right now.

Born on the 21st of April 1933 and passed away on the 21st of Feb 2003, Eunice Kathleen Waymon had over 40 albums. Sold over 1 million CDs in her last decade and her music spanned for over 4 decades, she is one of the greatest musicians to ever grace this earth.

The honest in her music was obvious from her first song “I loves you porgy” all the way until her last recordings. She started playing the piano at the age of 3 by ear, and graduated valedictorian of her class. The community raised money to send Nina to the Juilliard school of Arts in NY. However, she was rejected and believed that racism was the reason.

Nina then started teaching music to local students for a living. She once performed at a Midtown grill and a few other bars in the area and soon the word spread about this talented young woman. At the age of 24 Nina got signed and didn’t stay with that label for long. She started making several hits, albums and controversial songs. Nina was about the civil rights movement and had some songs banned. Notably “Mississippi Goddamn” The song became a civil rights activist anthem. It was banned in a few states in the South.

Here are the lyrics:

The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I mean every word of it

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

This is a show tune
But the show hasn’t been written for it, yet

Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong there
I’ve even stopped believing in prayer

Don’t tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I’ve been there so I know
They keep on saying “Go slow!”

But that’s just the trouble
“do it slow”
Washing the windows
“do it slow”
Picking the cotton
“do it slow”
You’re just plain rotten
“do it slow”
You’re too damn lazy
“do it slow”
The thinking’s crazy
“do it slow”
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don’t know
I don’t know

Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

I made you thought I was kiddin’ didn’t we

Picket lines
School boycotts
They try to say it’s a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me

Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you’d stop calling me Sister Sadie

Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You’re all gonna die and die like flies
I don’t trust you any more
You keep on saying “Go slow!”
“Go slow!”

But that’s just the trouble
“do it slow”
Desegregation
“do it slow”
Mass participation
“do it slow”
Reunification
“do it slow”
Do things gradually
“do it slow”
But bring more tragedy
“do it slow”
Why don’t you see it
Why don’t you feel it
I don’t know
I don’t know

You don’t have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

That’s it for now! see ya’ later

Here is a live version:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TkcuNX4vrS8

The woman really stood for what she believed in!

Moving on, Nina has so many famous songs and plenty of her songs have been covered by other artists including Muse & Michael Buble, who covered “feeling good”. Misunderstood was sampled in a lil Wayne song and covered by The Animals.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PipX3l1tEeU&feature=related

There are plenty of songs by Nina that are just plain amazing. I would recommend first listening to “I put a spell on you”, “Ain’t got no life”, “Sinnerman”, “the assignment song”.

This is one of my favourite videos on YouTube

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SxX6pYrvGy4

If you can find the longer version then please share it. The longer version shows her making jokes before the performance and really shows her personality.

Thanks for reading.